Holiday food, gifts for families

On Dec. 23, the collaboration between Goodwill Manasota and the Gail Baird Foundation − which has helped to provide Thanksgiving turkeys, sides and special gifts for hundreds of area veterans and their families prior to Thanksgiving the past two years − continued, this time making a significant impact on 10 area families just days before Christmas.

Thanks to a purposeful overflow of 2024 Thanksgiving turkey giveaway funds from the Gail Baird Foundation, these veterans received significant, much-needed holiday gifts.There was just over $30,000 earmarked for this effort, which helped area veterans and their families with: AC repairs, groceries (through gift cards ranging in value from $500 to $1,000), dental work, an electric bike and a new stove, a window and a children’s bike for a family in need.

Additionally, with significant logistical and financial support from SRQ Vets, one veteran received a much-needed vehicle to replace an old, unsafe car.Members of the Goodwill Manasota Veterans Services team were not only instrumental in selecting worthy candidates for the effort, they also crisscrossed the community to purchase gift cards, get quotes from service providers and negotiate prices to maximize the impact of the foundation’s contribution.During the Dec. 23 gift presentation, most of the recipients were in attendance as well as representatives from the Gail Baird Foundation, Goodwill Manasota and its Veterans Services program team, SRQ Vets, and Sarasota Ford.For the past two years, the Gail Baird Foundation has supported Goodwill Manasota's “Turkeys for Troops” giveaway, which provides turkeys, sides and special gifts for area veterans in advance of Thanksgiving.

This year, the foundation provided a total of $50,000 to not only support the turkey giveaway but also to provide meaningful gifts for a smaller group of beneficiaries at Christmas.For more about the Gail Baird Foundation, visit gailbairdfoundation.com. To learn more about Goodwill Manasota’s Veterans Services program,  visit experiencegoodwill.org/veteransservices.